Abraaj adds senior investment, finance execs

Middle East investment firm Abraaj Capital has hired Pervez Akhtar, Hisham Ahmed Ashour, Ashish Dave and Matteo Stefanel as executive directors.

The firm said that the appointments are line in with its organic growth and its continue expansion across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Akhtar will be member of the investment management team at Abraaj. He joins Abraaj from Allen & Overy, an international law firm, where he is a partner and head of the corporate practice, bringing in 15 years of experience in private equity and corporate finance.

Ashour has joined the firm’s portfolio management team. He was earlier a partner at Alvarez & Marsal, a professional services firm which specialises in turnarounds and restructurings, and headed its regional practice in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

Dave was earlier a Partner at KPMG, an audit and advisory firm. In his former role he led the firm’s private equity advisory business for South Asia and the Middle East from Dubai. At Abraaj, he joins the finance team.

Finally, Stefanel joins Abraaj from the Marfin Investment Group, a Greek investment holding company, where he was in charge of the execution of transactions. He was earlier managing director in the financial institutions group at Deutsche Bank. Stefanel joins Abraaj’s investment team and brings 12 years of private equity and investment banking experience.

Last month, the firm appointed Farrukh Abbas as the chief executive of its newly established Pakistan office. Abbas is to lead an investment team of six in Karachi.

Abraaj manages assets of about $5 billion and currently employs 155 professionals. Its most recent investment is the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Numarine, a Turkish luxury-yacht manufacturer.